Blog Stats

Posts Tagged ‘Deschutes’

Well, it’s been about a couple of months and I still haven’t spotted any Deschutes on the shelves here in Alberta. I am still crossing my fingers for these tasty brews to make their way to our fridges and cellars. Today’s review is on their Mirror Pond. A pale ale, they’ve used Cascade hops and Crystal malts to brew this well-balanced bad boy. If you are traveling and have the chance, crack one of these bad boys open.

The Mirror Pond pours a clear coppery color with many tiny bubbles working their way to the surface. The head is white and fluffy and laces the glass nicely. It smells of caramel, bitterness and a slight citrus. The taste has a huge up front taste of caramel along with a distinct light floral taste. It then twists into a bitter, piney hop. The aftertaste is very mellow and calming, I could see myself drinking many of these in the coming summer… If they’d come into our market…

First off I’d like to mention that Deschutes, to my knowledge, is currently not in the Alberta market. I was able to procure a few bottles during Willow Park’s last Craft Beer Festival. I had heard great things about their beers. Once I had tried them I’d fallen in love with yet another brewery. I urged Deschutes to come into our market but I have yet to see them on the shelves.

Deschutes has been brewing since 1988 on the banks of the Deschutes River. Whenever you open a bottle you will find a fine layer of yeast at the bottom. This isn’t from lack of quality. This is from a different process of carbonating the beer known as Kraeusening. The Black Butte Porter is Deschutes flagship beer. It is a mighty fine one at that.

The porter is pitch black, though when it’s held up to light the light comes through red. As you can tell from the photo, it poured a thick tan head which ended up leaving a gorgeous lacing along the inside of the glass. The aroma comes off heavy with roasted malts, chocolate, and a slight hint of molasses. I might be mistaken but I believe I am also picking up on possibly the mild aroma of dates or raisins. I immediately noticed how surprisingly smooth this porters taste was. The toasted malt flavoring is very mild in the taste compared to smell. The chocolate and molasses take up more flavoring then I originally thought they would. It leaves a very clean finish with a coffee aftertaste.